Essay on The Persistence of the Legend of a Diety

In his view it serves psychological functions for individuals helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity. He argues that death is the main reason for religious beliefs and identifies two types of situations: where the outcome is important but uncontrollable and thus uncertain and at times of life crises events such as birth, death etc. religion helps to minimise disruption.

Through out our lives we will all at some point seek for answers of the questions we have about life itself, but no one has ever got the true answer. No one knows why they were really put on the earth or what the point of life is or why there is good and evil. Religion try to answer some of these questions. A common question is who or what is god. Religion sets lifestyles for people to follow, it makes path ways in attempts to try answer these questions and these are what people live by.

Individuals from different cultures believe that there is a higher power. Even though they all believe in a different higher power, they similarly believe he created people, animals, plants, earth, etc. The reason why different cultures address such similar themes is because people tend to have the same concerns about themselves like the purpose of life and why they exist. “Myths reveal cultural responses to the ever-important questions: Who am I? How should I lead my life? Thus they reveal the different ways in which human beings respond to the issues that unite them” (Rosenberg, 2006). No matter what background, culture, gender or skin color, I believe everyone will have the same understanding given the same experiences or surroundings. Myths rationalize the unknown and tribulations of mankind by showing how we are able to overcome, conquer and adjust in certain situations we go

Communities all over the world use religion to rationalize the devastation they feel, and to find reason among it. This is the common history Eliade refers to. In all religions, there is some sort of struggle whether there is good versus evil or overcoming adversity. Throughout the chapters in “The Myth of The Eternal Return”, the reasoning behind religion is that there must be a bigger picture. If not, why would people harm and kill others if there wasn't someone making it happen? This is where the thought of a God occurred. An all-knowing being must be behind the continuous cycle of chaos in the cosmos, “struggles, conflicts, and wars for the most part have a ritual cause and function. They are a stimulating opposition between the two halves of a clan, or a struggle between the representatives of two divinities (for example, in Egypt, the combat between two groups representing Osiris and Set); but this always commemorates an episode of

For as long as there have been humans, there has been the worshipping of deities. We have seen this throughout the millennia in cases such as Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Catholicism. The cultures have varied, but the idea has remained. There are higher powers in this world that judge us based off of our everyday life. We alone decide whether to please them or go against their wishes. The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh gives us an insight as to how gods were viewed back then, and the account of Genesis chapters six through nine explains what we believe today. In both there is a similar tale, but they each depict different scenarios on how this tale was brought into fruition.

Throughout history, great importance has been placed on the existence of God. Every civilization through time has sought some sort of reassurance that their is a higher being the watches over humanity. The evidence of this belief can be seen in the tombs of the Egyptians, in the sculptures of the Greeks and in the customs of the African tribes, among many other cultures. It seems that the existence of a deity is something that every culture comes to accept at some time or another. In "Would Tarzan Believe in God?", the authors say that, "...many cognitive scientists see the universality and pervasiveness of religious belief as suggesting that it is a natural feature of evolved human psychology." (Banjeree, pg. 1) There are none who would

The belief in some higher presence, other than our own, has existed since man can recollect. Religion was established from this belief, and it can survive and flourish because of this belief. Christianity, one of several forms of religion that exist today, began sometime during the middle of the first century. Christians believe in a higher presence that they call "God." This belief in God is based on faith, not fact; faith is "unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence." (Webster's New World College Dictionary, 1996, p. 487). The belief in God exists primarily for two reasons: It answers the question of why we exist, and it is used to exert moral control over society

Observing the order and complexity found in nature (and the nature of the universe), combined with personal experience, reason leads to a belief in God.

Throughout the world there are many religious beliefs. Religion has been existing for a very long time, even before christ, religions serve as a worship to a “god.” There are different perspectives on how one sees religion, even though all religions tend to have similarities they all have a branch that that guides them to a different path than the rest and makes them unique. As Joseph Campbell said, “your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” (Campbell, 158-print). He meant that one does not have to follow someone else’s beliefs if one is not happy with what one is worshipping. Campbell emphasizes the fact that every religion is a way to express the human feelings towards a certain god or a thing of either an ancient civilization or a current one. Every generation and tribes have had different systems of beliefs. Take for example “Buddhism” which is a religion that began in the seventh century, before christ” (Religion, Funk and wagnalls- online). It is a very popular religion that has been going on for many centuries with more than 300 million followers. “Christianity is currently the world’s number one religion, and just like Buddhism they both worship some type of God” (Religion, Funk and wagnalls- online). Others religions are based on mythology, because humans do not have many information on whether that “religion” was real or not. Greek mythology is an

Myths and religion share the same qualities. Myths help connect to the spiritual world. “The myth is for spiritual instruction” (Campbell, 59). Myths help us relate to other spiritual references. Campbell uses the example of reincarnation and how it ties into other concepts of religion also, “….dimensions of your being and a potential for realization and consciousness that are not included with the concept of yourself.” (Campbell,70). In religion, you come out a new

Throughout history, and all over the world, mythology has been developed as a way of explaining the unknown and coping with one’s existence. Why does the sun shine? Well, seemingly, to generations past, something is controlling the universe, so there must be a god in charge of the sun and many other natural phenomenon. During the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and

The belief in Gods has always existed throughout human’s recored history. Whether it be the Greek Gods: Apollo, and Zeus, or the Judeo-Christian God, believed by Christians in modern day society. The belief of God has always existed among humans, however, assuming God does not exist, what explains the cultural evolution of such a false belief, namely religion? I shall argue that the reason this false belief is successful is because it manipulates human nature better than any other belief by these three points: an avoidance of death (the soul), a sense of worth (knowledge), and a sense, or need of belief (faith).

Since the dawn of time, people have necessitated explanations for various natural phenomena, such as rain, earthquakes, and death as well as human characteristics of love, wisdom, and anger. Societies, thus, began to formulate unique beliefs of deities with great power that explained any unknown territories. They worshiped these divine beings trusting in their abilities and fearing their fury. However, no two cultures ever had the same beliefs; each system of belief - each mythology - was designed to reflect the individual societies, who practiced it.

As Wilson Knight states, the frequent pleas to the gods "show at most an insistent need in humanity to cry for justification to something beyond its horizon" (188).

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.